Reference
Understanding Latency
What is latency?
When recording with most computer-based digital audio applications, a delay between the input and output of the
recording system often disturbs the timing of the musicians who are performing. This delay, known at latency, means
that the musician hears the notes he produces a few milliseconds after having produced them. As anyone who has
spoken on a phone call with echo knows, relatively short delays can confuse the timing of any conversation, spoken or
musical.
To i ll u st ra t e t he effe ct of la t en c y, Figure A depicts the typical signal path of a vocal overdub session. A vocalist sings
into a microphone, which is routed through a hardware interface to the audio software application for recording. In the
software application, the vocalist’s live signal is mixed with the playback of previously recorded tracks, and routed
back through the hardware interface to the vocalist’s headphones. Because of the audio application’s latency, the
vocalist hears his performance delayed by several milliseconds in his headphones. "
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